John Calvin Commentary Micah 5:4

"And he shall stand, and shall feed [his flock] in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God: and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth." — Micah 5:4 (ASV)

There is no doubt that the Prophet continues here to speak of Christ. And though the Jews shamelessly pervert the whole Scripture, they still cannot deny that Micah here calls the attention of all the godly to the coming of Christ, indeed, of all who hope or desire to obtain salvation. This is certain. Let us now see what the Prophet ascribes to Christ.

He shall stand, he says, and feed in the power of Jehovah. The word "stand" designates perseverance, as if he had said that God would not gather the remnant of the people by Christ for only a short time. It would not be, as often happens, when some rays of joy shine and then immediately vanish.

The Prophet shows here that the kingdom of Christ would be durable and permanent. It will then proceed, for Christ will not only rule his Church for a few days, but his kingdom will continue to stand through an unbroken series of years and ages. We now understand the Prophet’s purpose.

He adds in the second place, He shall feed in the strength of Jehovah, in the greatness of the name of Jehovah his God. By these words he means that there would be sufficient power in Christ to defend his Church. The Church, we know, is in this world subject to various troubles, for it is never without enemies; for Satan always finds those whom he induces, and whose fury he employs to harass the children of God.

Since then the Church of God is tossed by many tempests, it needs a strong and invincible defender. Hence this distinction is now ascribed by our Prophet to Christ—that he shall feed in the strength of Jehovah, and in the majesty of his God. As for the word "feed," it undoubtedly expresses what Christ is to his people, to the flock committed to him and to his care.

Christ then does not rule in his Church as a dreaded tyrant who distresses his subjects with fear; rather, he is a Shepherd who gently deals with his flock. Therefore, nothing can exceed the kindness and gentleness of Christ towards the faithful, as he performs the office of a Shepherd. And he prefers to be adorned with this title, rather than to be called and deemed a king, or to assume authority for himself.

But the Prophet, on the other hand, shows that the power of Christ would be dreadful to the ungodly and wicked. He shall feed, he says—with regard to his flock, Christ will put on a character full of gentleness, for nothing, as I have said, can imply more kindness than the word "shepherd." But since we are on every side surrounded by enemies, the Prophet adds—

He shall feed in the power of Jehovah and in the majesty of the name of Jehovah; that is, just as much power as there is in God, so much protection will there be in Christ whenever it is necessary to defend and protect the Church against her enemies. Let us therefore learn that no less safety is to be expected from Christ than there is power in God.

Now, since the power of God, as we confess, is immeasurable, and since his omnipotence far surpasses and swallows up all our conceptions, let us therefore learn to extend all our hopes both high and low. Why so? Because we have a King sufficiently powerful, who has undertaken to defend us, and to whose protection the Father has committed us.

Since, then, we have been delivered to Christ’s care and defense, there is no reason why we should doubt our safety. He is indeed a Shepherd, and for our sake he thus condescended and did not refuse such a humble name; for in a shepherd there is no pomp nor grandeur.

But though Christ, for our sake, put on the character of a Shepherd and does not disown the office, he is yet endowed with infinite power. How so? Because he does not govern the Church in a human manner, but in the majesty of the name of his God.

Now, in that he subjects Christ to God, he refers to his human nature. Though Christ is God manifested in the flesh, he is yet made subject to God the Father as our Mediator and the Head of the Church in his human nature; he is indeed the middle Person between God and us.

This, then, is the reason why the Prophet now says that Christ has power, as it were, at the will of another—not that Christ is only man, but since he appears to us in the form of man, he is said to receive power from his Father. And this, as has been said, is with respect to his human nature.

There is yet another reason why the Prophet has expressly added this—that we may know that Christ, as the protector of the Church, cannot be separated from his Father: just as God is God, so Christ is his minister to preserve the Church.

In a word, the Prophet means that God is not to be viewed by the faithful except through the intervening Mediator. He also means that the Mediator is not to be viewed except as one who receives supreme power from God Himself and who is armed with omnipotence to preserve his people.

He afterwards adds, They shall dwell; for he shall now be magnified to the extremities of the earth. He promises a secure habitation to the faithful, for Christ shall be extolled to the utmost regions of the world.

We see here that he is promised to foreign nations. For it would have been enough for Christ to exercise his supreme power within the borders of Judea if only one nation had been committed to his safekeeping. But since God the Father intended that he should be the author of salvation to all nations, we therefore learn that it was necessary for him to be extolled to the utmost borders of the earth.

But with regard to the word "dwell," it is explained more fully in the next verse, when the Prophet says—